My Dear Cinderella
by Yukai yami
Summary: With her step family, how will little Hinata's life change after meeting her fairy godmother, Kurenai? Along with prince charming, Naruto? And...will Sasuke escape the dance and Ino? The prince's giving a ball! Obviously OOC...NaruHina/SasuSaku. ON HIATUS
1. The Sweetest Sounds

**My Dear Cinderella—Naruto**

**Summary:** What happens when the World of Naruto and Cinderella Broadway style clash? All the Naruto characters go medieval, get an urge to sing, and all hell breaks loose! NaruxHina mainly.

**Disclaimer:** Yes!!!! I own Naruto!!!! Now the world is mine!!!! –Wakes up-…DAMN!

**MAJOR UPDATE!!!!** I changed the characters. This story no longer has OC's (Original characters). Ino is now Konan and Sakura is now Karin, therefore, Kowai is now Ino and Aikou is now Sakura. If you never read the story before, you can just ignore this and carry on. _And italics are song lyrics._

**Random Comment of the day: **What happens when you get half-scared to death twice?

No I do not own Naruto or Cinderella. Only my sugar-coated imagination…

* * *

Once upon a time, in the middle of a dark, starry night, a young woman stood alone over a large plain. She had long, wavy black hair that reached her shoulders. She had deep eyes the same color as her name, Kurenai. Her light gold dress with mesmerizing star-like shine flowed behind her with the soft wind as she sang into the silent night.

"_Impossible… For a plain yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage…_

_Impossible…for a plain country bumpkin and a prince to join in marriage…"_

She closed her eyes and let out a light chuckle. She then, opened them again, slowly, looking at the moon.

"A slipper made of glass is just a shoe. And dreamers never make a dream come true." she finished, whispering. And with a single wave motion of her hand, she shined, as she became a ball of light and floated into the horizon.

"_Impossible!!"_

* * *

"Come along now, girls!"

An older woman, black eyed with spiky hair in a crazy spiky ponytail, dressed in a puffy purple dress with gold trimmings walked gracefully. She was overly dressed for the hot town climate and had many, many accessories on. You could tell she was rich, and that she wasn't shy about spending her money.

Close behind followed a young indigo haired girl with dark blue eyes on a short green dress, though it only showed her knees and down. Her hair was loose in the front, but placed in a small bun in the back. Oddly enough, she had a white paper flower placed tightly in the side of her head. She also wore long green gloves and carried some expensive looking bags.

"Hurry up!" she yelled behind her, seemingly annoyed.

"Move it!" yelled another young girl. This one, however, had long black hair and green eyes under black glasses. She had a flat red dress with long red gloves. She was also yelling to the person behind her and in the back.

Almost tripping and walking shakily, holding many bags, was a beautiful young maiden following the other three women. She had creamy white skin and had long dark blue hair that reached her middle back. Her eyes were her most stunning feature. They were soft purple, and to the far sighted, might look white, yet they were a certain kind of lavender. You could see unbreakable determination in her eyes. She hurried her pace, trying to catch up with the others with the others without tripping on the rocky road covered from her sight by her, or rather, her family's bags.

They stopped in front of a cart with many hats. The indigo and black-haired girls were fascinated by them, giving the lavender eyed maiden some time to catch her breath and sort the bags she was carrying.

The indigo-haired youth grabbed a strange hat with many colors that clashed with each other and had many rainbow colored feathers. Why the hat shop owner hadn't thrown it out is still a wonder. Her companion gasped in surprise. That was the hat she was going to grab herself!

"What do you think, Anko-kaasan?" she asked the older woman, posing in her hat.

Anko, her mother, staggered when she saw her daughter. She tried to cover her stagger with a little out of place laughter.

"Well, Konan-darling," she started,"It's certainly not the sort of thing you see everyday."

The other girl gasped in envy and tore the hat away from Konan.

"I saw it first!" she placed the hat on top of her head and turned to her mother "How do you think it looks on ME, kaasan??"

"Ugh!" said Konan, pretending to be gagging "Awful, four-eyes!"

"I didn't ask you, paper-freak!" replied the other.

"Now, now Konan-darling, Karin-sweetie," broke in Anko.

"After all," she continued, "how can a mother choose between two such extraordinary daughters?" she said nervously as she entered the shop, leaving her daughters behind. The sisters fumed in anger for the other and turned to their long forgotten 'friend'.

"Hina—Ahhh." Stuttered Konan, almost making a _grave _mistake, on their mother's side.

Karin, however, noticed her mistake and jabbed her sister's ribs in annoyance. How dare her do something so dumb?

"Cinderella? Cinderella!" yelled Karin after Cinderella didn't hear her the first time.

"Huh?" she turned around to notice her stepsister Karin calling her. She had to suppress her giggles when she saw the rather…'unique' hat…

"What do you think, Cinderella? Does it look better on me?" asked Karin, twirling her hair in between her fingers while wearing the hat (while mouthing 'of course!').

"—or me?" asked Konan while she took the hat from her sister's head, thus, of course, making Karin angry.

Cinderella looked at the brick-like road for a moment. She was taught to never lie unless absolutely necessary, or so her father told her before he passed away… but there were times were she hated telling the truth, out of the other person's feelings. Well, might as well get it over with. She was watching a really interesting puppet show and wanted to continue watching it while she could.

"Well…" she started, choosing the right words "I do not know much about hats, but I don't think it flatters either one of you…"

Her sisters gasped and narrowed their eyes at her. They talked to each other while still keeping their eyes on Cinderella.

"What did you ask HER for?" asked Konan, annoyed at both her siblings.

"She CLEARLY doesn't know anything about hats, she said so herself." Murmured Karin as she turned around slowly, looking at Konan oddly...

...and grabbed the hat from her while she wasn't looking!

Konan shook off her surprise and pulled her hat back. Both sisters kept pulling the hat, which surprisingly didn't tear in half. Both stopped and turned to the door of the hat store.

"KAA-SAN!!!"

Konan and Karin ran to the door and got stuck, refusing to let the other enter. Meanwhile, Cinderella was watching the puppet show again while her sisters were fighting. It was really getting too old. They acted more childish than her sometimes, and they were older! Weren't sisters supposed to love each other? She was pretty sure her father told her that one time... but after meeting Konan and Karin, she often thought he was horribly wrong...Cinderella shook off her thoughts and watched the show. Supposedly, a girl was in front of a prince while he spoke of his undying love for her. It simply made her heart flutter. If only she had someone say that to her…

"_The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear_

_Are still inside my head_

_The kindest words I'll ever know_

_Are waiting to be said_

_The most entrancing sight of all_

_Is yet for me to see_

_And the dearest love in all the world_

_Is waiting somewhere for me…_

_Is waiting somewhere…somewhere for me…"_

* * *

In the other part of the market, wandered by a quite normal looking fellow. A teenage boy whose looks were covered by his dark brown hood. He wore a white, long-sleeved shirt and long baggy black pants with dark brown boots. Even with a hood on, you could see his brilliant sapphire eyes. The reason for wearing such clothes? Well, what else to be incognito in! He knew it was a little…old fashioned, but if it's not broken…

...besides, he'd do ANYTHING to get out of his stuffy castle. Palace life was NOT made for him.

As he walked by the village, he seemed fascinated by every little thing that caught his eye; carriages, fruit, normal looking flowers, anything! Soon after, he started to think about how secluded his life was...being the famous prince Naruto could do that to you. Proclamations to do, to prepare for the life of a King. "Fiancé's" to meet, to choose a future Queen. Schedules to keep left and right...His life was a living nightmare, so to speak. That got him to thinking...

"_The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear_

_Are still inside my head_

_The kindest words I'll ever know_

_Are waiting to be said_

_The most entrancing sight of all_

_Is yet for me to see_

_And the dearest love in all the world_

_Is waiting somewhere for me…_

_Is waiting somewhere…somewhere for me…"_

Before he knew it, he had traveled all the way over to where a hat shop (and Cinderella,) was. Stepsisters Konan and Karin were fighting over all sorts of items and Anko had to set everything back to normal (As normal as you can get with them, of course). At least the sisters had been able to divide the hat in two; Karin had the feathers adorning her hair and Konan got the red hat base. While the sisters followed their dearest mother to another store, Cinderella wandered into the plaza, where the disguised prince was. They continued their past time hobby; singing their troubles away.

"_The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear…_

_(The sweetest sounds, I'll ever hear)_

_Are still inside my head._

_The kindest words I'll ever know…_

_(The kindest words I'll ever know)_

_Are waiting to be said_

_The most entrancing sight of all, Is yet…_

_(The most entrancing sight of all is yet…)_

_For me to see_

_And the dearest love in all the world,"_

"_Is waiting somewhere for me…_

_Waiting somewhere…_

_Is waiting somewhere…_

_Somewhere for me…"_

Feeling content, they traveled back to reality. They felt as though they were late now; things to explore, stuff to carry for others, so they parted and walked to where they came from.

"…Cinderella!" yelled a woman's voice.

"O-oh! S-stepmother!"

Now, you should know that Cinderella wasn't one to stutter, but being sneaked upon and yelled on your ear would startle anyone, right? It wasn't like Hinata, or rather, Cinderella, was one of those skilled ninjas that she read so much about in those 'manga' books...

Anko walked past Cinderella, her head held high, not loosing grace for even a second. With one, hard look from Anko, Cinderella knew what she wanted her to do. That look said "Stop what you're doing and carry our stuff…now!"

Karin and Konan came out of the shoe store. Karin dropped two boxes on top of Cinderella's pile and Konan dropped a bag. They followed their mother.

"Have you ever seen such a lazy girl in your life?" loudly said Konan, so that Cinderella would hear her on purpose.

"Who are you calling lazy?!" yelled Karin in the same voice, but very annoyed.

"Not you, stupid! Cinderella!" huffed Konan and walked faster.

"Oh." Said Karin with a content look on her face.

Cinderella just sighed and followed her only remaining family in the world to the rest of the stores.

"…Hey! Who you calling stupid?!"

* * *

In another part of the large town, two very well dressed young girls were walking around the shops. A hooded boy (--well, we all know who I'm talking about, right?) was walking along that side of town, too. He watched the flowers in a nearby shop and kept walking, seeing everything…except the path in front of him.

The girls were chatting among themselves and walked beside a crowd of people who were also walking along the road. By accident, the young man's shoulder brushed against one of the said girls.

He turned around to apologize for his clumsiness and almost did a double-take when he saw her face. So he did the only reasonable choice he thought of: he ran, but I mean he RAN- as if his life depended on it. The confused girl whom Naruto brushed against tried to see above the crowd around her, looking for the man. He looked familiar; REALLY familiar.

"Excuse me, pardon me…" said such girl trying to see past the many people around her. She eventually gave up and turned to her partner.

"I thought I saw my brother…Nah. That can't be right." She pulled her friend by her arm and searched for a less crowded place.

The girl was of medium height, with long blonde hair in a high ponytail. She had clear blue eyes and wore an elegant purple dress. You could tell from a glance that she was from high royalty, or at least a noble. Many who lived in that kingdom knew that she was Princess Ino and her companion was her cousin Shizune.

They stopped near a butcher shop and Ino faced her cousin.

"The thing is that my brother, Naruto, must be _ecstatic_, "she stressed the word, "about the ball, my mom, the queen, is throwing him."

She huffed and stomped her foot hard on the ground, as an act of anger.

"I'm so furious." She continued "…They throw a party for my bro but I can't even date yet! He's only five years older than me, you know. He's 20, so that makes me 15, right? But I can't date yet! What am I gonna do for the dance ball?" she ended with a sad look on her face.

"Whoa, wait. Dance ball? My cousin Naruto? I've never heard anything about that!" Shizune finally said. She had shoulder length black hair and black eyes. Her hairstyle was bobbed-like but had a really small ponytail on her back. She wore a flat, strapless white dress and gloves and had a shell purse. "Ino, your pops never told me about this dance when they invited me over. Heck, even my dad, Iruka, never told me!"

"They haven't disclosed it yet, so not even your dad knows, Shizune. But you'll hear it soon enough, the herald will be reading the proclamation pretty soon.

But I know my brother," she continued, back on the main topic. "He'll be furious. As for I?" chuckled Ino. She couldn't resist going into a dream-like state. She was practically drooling, and she was freaking Shizune out.

"I'll be enchanted if my parent's let me get a date, or better yet, a boyfriend!!" she squealed." It doesn't matter who," she turned back to normal, then showed a scowl. "Even prince frog from the news will do." She finished, leaving to continue shopping.

"Huh?" said, or rather, asked, Shizune in an I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter voice. Ino stopped dead in her tracks. Shizune let out a little laugh while Ino turned around to look at her, with an unreadable look on her face. It was Shizune's turn to look scary now; not that Ino would admit it, she was _never _scared…

"But, really," said Shizune, calming down. "Is that all what the princess need? A date for the ball, nothing more? I think I can find a frog—I mean, a date for the ball. Ha-ha…" Laughed Shizune, gaining Ino's attention, and annoyance.

"Don't you dare to mock me, I'm not in the mood for you today..." then, immediately, she dropped to her knees and hugged her cousin's legs, gaining the attention of all those walking by…

"Oh, it's only the crazy princess…" muttered one of the by-standers.

And everyone shrugged it off and kept walking.

"Oh, please! Pretty please! Say yes, beautiful cousin princess!!"

"Ohhh go on, keep convincing me!!"

"Enough!!" exclaimed Ino, slamming her foot again.

"…Tell me more, please…" she begged, yet again. No wonder she's called the crazy princess…

"Well, you see…" started her cousin "There's this Butcher guy, very handsome and friendly, that we can invite for the ball. But if your father Arashii finds out, we, and mostly him, will be in trouble. Last time, he ended in the castle dungeons for a week. He was trying to impersonate your brother at the palace while Naruto snuck out to the village plaza to hangout. The nerve!"

"Uh huh…" nodded Ino in agreement, giving her cousin time to breathe. There was no stopping it when she got into a deep conversation, and this was one of those times.

"Also," she continued, raising her hand to her chin trying to remember something, "His friend was also in trouble and they both ended up in prison for lying to the king. People say his friend is the real mastermind behind those crazy ideas they get all the time." She ended.

"Really?" it was more of a statement than a question. This information was gonna help her…how?

"Well, are you still helping me to get a date or not?"

Shizune let out a shy laugh, or more like a giggle out. "Have I ever let you down, Princess Ino?" she asked. No, really, she asked.

"Well, just last week…" answered Ino, thinking about the details "…At that Tea party with all those weird guests from the kingdoms, when I didn't know anybody. You didn't show up." Ended, waiting for an explanation.

"Well!" Exclaimed Shizune, stopping Ino, and her, from thinking. 'Shoot! Now what? Stall!' screamed her mind.

"There is a VERY good reason for that!!"

"And that is…?" she was getting anxious.

"Well…uh…it happens that…by mistake…I drank a potion! Yeah!" lied Shizune.

"A potion?" Fortunately for her, Ino could never tell the difference between truth and lie.

"That's right. Not intended for me, of course. And it resulted to be a sleeping potion that my mother was preparing for the wicked ladies of the civic organization bazaar! They thought that it'd never work, but it did! And--"

"Also," interrupted Ino, saving herself from a world of boredom, "there was this charity ball, also at the palace, but you didn't show up—again." She crossed her arms over her, rather flat, chest, something people made fun of, since her mother was one of the bustiest people in the kingdom. After all, who didn't know of queen Tsunade? Outsiders only, maybe…

"Oh, THAT day…You see…when I was on my way there, I decided to take a shortcut through the lake, and guess what…I found a drowning orphan boy! He was very cute, by the way. I saved him through CPR, but he didn't wake up! Not that it bothered me _that_ much, he had a _very _nice form, so I did it again, and—"

"Hey, I have an idea!" butted in her younger cousin. "How 'bout we just go to the butcher boy?" Ino was mentally praying she'd say yes and stop talking about mouth-to-mouth with boys. The thought alone made her go red in the face. (Funny, didn't she just say that she wanted a boyfriend?)

"Oh, sure! O.K!" agreed Shizune.

They both searched for the butcher shop, which was, conveniently, behind them the entire time. It was a small house with only one window to the left of the door on the brick wall. The meat hanging from the frame of the window and the words 'Butchery' was hanging on top of the door. There was always a table in front of the store where people from near and far could stop by and see what made the meat of this kingdom so good. The smell of freshly cooked Sirloin or burgers roamed the nearby area, along with the smell of steaks and sweet spices that would make your mouth water.

By the table, or rather behind it, four talented butchers could be seen skillfully slicing the meat. The princesses stayed a good distance from the table, not wanting to get the stench of food on their new dresses, and called them.

"Yoo-hoo, butcher boy! Over here!" waved Shizune sweetly. Ino, on the other hand, was loosing her short amount of patience. Being a princess, you always had what you wanted the moment it left your mouth, so this, in her opinion, was taking a little _too_ long. I mean, how hard can it be to call a guy over?! But she had to admit; the guys working over there were pretty cute…Oh! And it seems that one of the hottest there is the one that Shizune is calling over! This is just perfect! Now only if they would hurry up…

* * *

The eyes/name thing. What I meant is that her eyes are crimson, the same as her name, which is Kurenai, meaning crimson in Japanese. And kaa-san also means mother in Japanese.


	2. What's your name?

Chapter 2: What's your name?

**Warning: **Immense OOC on Sasuke's and Kakashi's parts. Of course, everyone's a little OOC, but it's just a warning.

Just so you guys know. I have the tendency to make the first chapter of my fics really detailed, and to use less effort on the next chapters. I'm just not good to make in-depth comments like other awesome writers, like Foxie-sama and Gadalla Rune and Tenchi Lily. Just thought you guys should know.

**Disclaimer: **Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm pretty sure I can own Naruto with the $2.00 I have to my name. That's _sarcasm_. Look it up.

* * *

(Recap)

"Yoo-hoo, butcher boy! Over here!" waved Shizune sweetly. Ino, on the other hand, was loosing her short amount of patience. Being a princess, you always had what you wanted the moment it left your mouth, so this, in her opinion, was taking a little _too_ long. I mean, how hard can it be to call a guy over?! But she had to admit; the guys working over there were pretty cute…Oh! And it seems that one of the hottest there is the one that Shizune is calling over! This is just perfect! Now only if they would hurry up…

* * *

On the butcher's side of the story, however, not everything was looking so smoothly. Who in the entire kingdom didn't know who the crazy princess was? She was way too active for her own good and didn't think rationally. She was similar to her big brother; prince Naruto, only HE knew how to control himself. And to make matters worse it looked like she, or more specifically her cousin, was calling one of them over. The boss, the most skillful (and most handsome, in the villager girl's opinions), was feeling sorry for the poor sucker who was going to be their victim.

Besides him stood his closest friend and fellow worker. If he didn't know better, he'd say he was a pretty boy who wouldn't lift a finger to save his own life. That's if he _didn't_ know better. His friend had long brown hair that reached his back with really light skin. His eyes were dark lavender which made him stand out in a crowd and he wore an aura of seriousness that was almost always around him. He wore the standard butcher outfit; a white shirt and dark pants under a big, tight, meat stained apron.

Right now, said friend was trying to call his attention without attracting that of others, by nudging the hilt of his knife to the boss' side.

"What wrong, Neji?" asked the boss, a little bothered by the constant poking, though not showing it. Neji treated him with respect, so he did too.

"Are you stupid or something, Sasuke?" whispered Neji harshly, catching his boss Sasuke off guard. 'I mean, goodness sake! Anyone could tell he's supposed to be above us, yet he's being totally clueless!'

The boss had a black shirt with red borders with his family's symbol on the back; a half white and half red figure that looked similar to a fishing hook. He also wore long black pants. He had short dark hair and pitch black eyes. When Neji saw his boss' suddenly confused eyes, he gave a long sigh.

"Sasuke, her littleness princess Ino and Shizune are calling you!" he tried explaining with patience he never knew he had. Not that it changed anything. Sasuke just replied that it couldn't be him, and continued working.

Well, short patience calls for drastic measures.

* * *

"Um... hey! Butcher boy?" kept calling Shizune.

She had to wonder, were they deaf? Well, it _would _explain how they were able to ignore the fangirl's endless pleas of love they made daily. But they didn't even pay her a second glance in her directio--

"HEY, BUTCHER BOY!" yelled Ino while slamming her right foot on the ground, hard, scaring the dress out of Shizune and anyone in a 20 feet radius. "COME OVER HERE RIGHT NOW! Your princess **commands** you!"

Neji recovered from the pain in his ears quickly by shaking his head vigorously. What the hell? He was just trying to push Sasuke in her littleness' direction when she suddenly broke out yelling like a violent demonic banshee.

"Good luck. If you don't come back alive, I'll take over for you" said Neji lowly on Sasuke's ear.

Neji took Sasuke's baffled moment to his advantage and he kick/pushed Sasuke in Ino's way. Then he discreetly watched the conversation from the corner of his eyes.

Sasuke stumbled and almost fell flat face in front of Ino and Shizune, almost. He quickly regained his composure.

"Yes, your majesty. How may I be of service?" he asked while he bowed his head in respect.

Yeah, respect. Not fear.

Shizune cleared her throat to call the handsome boy's attention. "Her majesty is soliciting of you that you will be her companion for the upcoming ball."

'Oh, shit…' were poor little Sasuke's exact thoughts.

"B-but, your little—I mean, your highness!" protested Sasuke, "I cannot do this. You see my girrrrrrrl…friend…s?" stumbled Sasuke, trying to organize his scrambled thoughts.

"Nonsense!" butted in Ino. No way was this mega-hottie gonna get out of her grasp! She finally had the chance to get an actual date after waiting 15 long years. She'd be damned if she had to wait 15 more!

"You'll come and you'll be early. 'Cuz if you don't…" she gave him a mischievous smile at this "I'll see that my father, King Arashii, throws you in the castle dungeons for a whole month." Sasuke gulped at that. He was already there once, and to be honest, he _never_ wanted to be there again.

"Got it butcher boy?" it was more of a statement than a question.

"But, but…Your majesty, let me explain…"

The princess would have none of it. She and her cousin left to the other side of town while still shopping, and wouldn't have any excuses.

Sasuke was speechless…THE Sasuke Uchiha had THE worst luck in the world and had to date THE crazy princess. Neji, seeing it was safe to approach him, went to Sasuke's side. He didn't need to say he was there, Sasuke already knew. Don't ask why, they had that kind of bond.

"Now what?" asked the lavender eyed boy's boss, not expecting an answer. "I can't show up at that ball now! She'll recognize me! I've never even heard of this ball. But if I _don't_ dance with her, she'll get the king to shreeeeeek my neeeeeck." He stressed with a motion of a sharp object slicing through his neck, "And if I _do_ go and dance with her…I'll break my sweet, little bakery girl Sakira's heart."

Sasuke stopped to let out a love struck sigh, something that personally freaked Neji out.

"You saw how in love she is with me (along with all the other girls in the village?)." he said to Neji, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ahhh, SURE she is…" replied Neji sarcastically. EVERYONE (maybe) knew that Sakura, the bakery girl from the shop next door absolutely positively _hated _Sasuke, for reasons not many knew. But Sasuke was in denial, saying 'she's just playing hard to get' or 'she's too shy'. You had to pity the lovesick boys of the village, really.

"But don't worry." Said Neji, "I'm getting a great idea to solve this royal problem. You'll see, just trust me."

"I know I can count on you, my honorable friend" replied Sasuke, and left to continue working with Neji and their fellow co-workers.

* * *

Not too far away from the flower shop, Cinderella was walking by window shopping while Ino and Shizune passed by. Ino walked her way, until she accidentally bumped into Cinderella and her bags, which fell on the street floor.

"Ow!" shouted Ino. "Watch where you're going!"

Shizune helped her up and they walked past Cinderella in their way to the castle.

Cinderella bowed as an apology and worked right away to pick up her, well her family's packages. Nearby, the now un-hooded youth, prince Naruto, saw what happened and went over to help Cinderella pick up their things.

"Are you all right, Mademoiselle?" he asked, truly worried. He couldn't believe his own little sister just did something like that!

"Yes, I'm fine, I think." Cinderella replied, busy picking up the things on the floor.

They didn't look at each other, just worked on picking up her stuff. The young prince picked up one of the very strange looking hats Cinderella was carrying and looked at it for a second.

"Here you go." He gave it back to Cinderella, still not making eye-contact "It's just like those royals, isn't it? Not caring if they're in anybody's way."

"Well, I'm sure they were going somewhere very important." She lowly stated, always looking at the light side of things. Not that you can blame her. How else can you keep a smile on your face after going through a life like hers?

Naruto just scoffed at her opinion "I doubt it."

"The only thing Ino would find important would be a bachelor's party…" he thought out loud to himself.

"Excuse me?" wondered Cinderella, caught off guard by his comment.

And right there, when Cinderella was done picking up her things, her eyes met that of the handsome young man's besides her. When Naruto saw her eyes, needless to say, he was baffled. They looked so soft and innocent…and had just the faintest hint of the color lavender in them. Cinderella's thoughts were almost the same. His eyes were so strong and admirable. They were almost an identical sapphire color and looked so beautiful…

She quickly snapped out of her thoughts and looked away, a small blush on her cheeks. She let out 'thanks', barely below a whisper.

"Huh?" said Naruto, also snapping out of his thoughts and also getting a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Thanks for your help." Repeated Cinderella, and started to walk away quickly.

"Wait!" Naruto immediately called out. "What's your name?"

Cinderella stopped in her racks at his question. Why the hell was he asking that? More importantly, should she tell him her real name? But she was prohibited from doing so by her stepmother…

"…Cinderella." She finally murmured out, her back still facing him.

"I beg your pardon?"

Cinderella turned around and looked at him in the eyes again, those beautiful sapphire eyes of his…"Cinderella." Seeing his yet confused expression, she continued. "I like to sit by the fire and the cinders fly, and my face gets smudged…" she finished, still blushing.

"Ah!" He realized, getting a mental slap for not realizing it earlier "Cinder-ella. I like it."

"I-it grows on you, I-I guess. Excuse me." she stuttered, trying to leave.

"Tell me Cinderella," he said, following her "what would a man have to do to find himself in your good graces?"

"Who wants to know?" she wondered, deciding to play along with his little game.

"Let's just say," he walked in front of her as to get her full attention, "a charming stranger."

However, man's half-baked plans have a way of falling apart fast. Naruto should have taken that into mind, before he backed into a cart and nearly fell down with it. Lucky for him that the vendor of such cart wasn't nearby.

"Oh my…" muttered Cinderella. She just walked away from Naruto, trying to escape the passing people's stares. Though, when Naruto managed to get his senses back together and catch up with her again, she still continued the conversation.

"I'm not sure I want to meet this stranger. He probably has no idea of how a girl needs to be treated."

"Like a princess, I suppose" he responded in his defense.

"No…" she turned to face him.

"Like a person, with kindness and respect."

"He, he...You're not like most girls, are you?"

Cinderella took that opinion of his as a slight insult. "What do you mean?"

'Uh oh, wrong move.' Thought Naruto suddenly.

"N-nothing, nothing! I didn't mean to offend you!" They both looked away for a moment.

"It's all right. It's just that I've led a pretty sheltered life."

"So have I." he looked at her again, noticing she was doing the same.

"Really?"

"Everyday the same old routine…"

"Until you just want to run away…"

"And never come back!" the ended at the same time. They laughed together, too. Maybe this could work after all…

Had not her stepmother Anko seen their little interchange of words and hadn't approached them from behind.

"I thought I told you never to talk to strangers!" she probably would've screamed at her had she not been in the presence of another person.

"I'm so sorry, Stepmother." Apologized Cinderella deeply.

Naruto noticed the tension on the air and decided he did enough trouble for Cinderella this day, and decided to take his leave.

"I hope to see you again, Cinderella." He told with a smile on his face, as he turned and walked away. Cinderella simply looked at his retreating back, hoping the same as him.

"Well hurry up with those packages, what ARE you doing?" bellowed Anko, trying to snap Cinderella back into reality while she walked away.

Cinderella followed her stepmother, but couldn't help stop and look at Naruto again.

_The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear,_

_Are still inside my head._

Naruto while walking away felt his earlier melody make its way up his throat and to his lips again.

_The kindest words I'll ever know,_

_Are waiting to be said._

_The most entrancing sound of all,_

_Is yet for me to see…_

_And the dearest love in all the world_

_Is waiting somewhere for me. _

Naruto arrived to his carriage, where a coachman opened the door for him as he stepped inside. He gave a final look at Cinderella, before the door was shut once again.

"Cinderella!!" yelled Anko again; making sure Cinderella heard her this time before she walked off again.

"_Is waiting somewhere for me…"_ Finished Cinderella, almost above a whisper, as she walked away in her stepfamily's direction.

* * *

(At the Royal Castle's halls)

"Why?! Why the disguise again your highness after I beg of you?" rambled on Naruto's trusted advisor. Sure, the man was much, much older than him, but still cared deeply for the boy on some degree. He always had to put up with Naruto's little escapes and was lucky that was never blamed. Not directly, anyways.

The man was taller than Naruto, by about a foot, since Naruto had a mayor growth sprout when he reached adolescence. He had grey hair that was always in a messy fashion. He wore a vertical scar from the top of his left eye to the bottom of it; his eye was also a different color, being partially red instead of black like his right eye. His face was rather handsome and women daily fell to their knees on his presence. He currently wore a bright purple coat, signaling that he was of a high rank in the castle, and he is, being the royal herald, advisor of the King and Queen, and supervisor of Prince Naruto. He wore a black shirt under his coat and long black pants.

"I had a lovely time today, Kakashi." Said Naruto, extending his arms out so Kakashi could put his royal coat on, which was Cobalt Blue with Light Blue-ish sparkles.

"No one treated me like a prince. What a relief to be among real people."

"Listen to me," said Kakashi turning Naruto around to look his straight in the eyes. "I am a real person. Does that tell you anything?"

Naruto just gave him an exasperated look and kept walking.

"Believe me, they're all out there wishing they could be you!" Kakashi told the prince, hoping the fifty-sixth time would be the charm to get some sense into the blonde's head.

"Because they have no idea what it's really like!" replied Naruto. The thought that the village folk would give up their free daily lives to be like royalty made him angry. They had no idea what they would be throwing away by doing something so…foolish.

'Not being able to have real friends…always told where to go, what to eat…unable to ever be normal…' he thought solemnly.

* * *

Violent demonic banshee, curtesy of Zelos from Tales of Symphonia. Which I also do not own.

I DO NOT hate Karin, Konan or Anko. I don't bash them, but I don't defend them either. It's just that think about it. Who else could have a better paper for Minerva, Calliope and Stepmother? And don't say Hanabi 'cuz she rocks along with Hinata-chan.

Well, I added along Kakashi, Sasuke and Neji for the ride, next chapter will be 'the prince is giving a ball', and hopefully will be longer than this one, but don't hold your breath, because you might…die…yeah…


	3. The Prince is giving a Ball!

**Chapter 3: The Prince's giving a Ball!**

**Warning: **OOC-ness, like always. And a very, very, VERY bizarre pairing for Naruto's parents, okay? But if you paid attention in previous chapters, you should have seen it already. And I don't know the 4th Hokage's name. I put the name Arashii because one of my friends called him that once. Someone send me his real name if they know it, please!!!

**Disclaimer: **Well, I asked to own Naruto for last Christmas, but Santa sent me a letter saying that even he doesn't have that much power…

**Please read! **One of the main reasons for no update is because I have only one computer for the whole family + my parent's work is centered around it, so my stories are on the bottom of the priority list (I also make AMVs, fan arts, etc…)

Reason 2: I lost the papers with all the main info and events of this story. All I'm writing here today is basically from my mind. If you wanna know when the next chapter's coming, just place an alert on this fic.

* * *

**_(Recap)_**

"Believe me, they're all out there wishing they could be you!" Kakashi told the prince, hoping the fifty-sixth time would be the charm to get some sense into the blonde's head.

"Because they have no idea what it's really like!" replied Naruto. The thought that the village folk would give up their free daily lives to be like royalty made him angry. They had no idea what they would be throwing away by doing something so…foolish.

'Not being able to have real friends…always told where to go, what to eat…unable to ever be normal…' he thought solemnly.

* * *

Kakashi tried to convince the young prince to listen to reason…tried to…

"Help me out here," the gray haired man said, counting with his fingers "you are rich, you are young, you live in a gorgeous castle, you are on your way to fame and fortune, you have beautiful girls throwing themselves at your feet!" He stressed every point. "Is there _something _I'm not getting?!" he got frantic by now.

Kakashi got his big job inside the castle only after years of struggle and by being a childhood friend of the king. But he spent more time arguing with prince Naruto than supervising him, like he was supposed to do.

Naruto knew that Kakashi only wanted what was best for him, but he just couldn't stay in the castle, he'd go mad! Besides, Ino and Shizune waltzed out of the castle, too. In royal clothes, no less! Why couldn't he do the same? Because he was the heir to their kingdom? He thought it unfair. But no matter what, Kakashi always helped him, albeit unwillingly. Naruto thought he'd never be able to express his gratitude in this lifetime. Maybe in another life, where they'd had met under different circumstances.

In a last attempt to convince Naruto, Kakashi grabbed him by the shoulders and made him look at him in the eye.

"Naruto, this disappearing thing has got to stop. It is too dangerous" Kakashi told him as he opened the door to the King and Queen's royal chamber.

Naruto gave Kakashi an outraged look, "It is completely, 100% safe, Kakashi!!"

"I am not worried about you," replied Kakashi, gulping at a mental image he just got. "I am worried about _me_! I cannot keep lying to your mother- - there are laws against that!!"

Naruto resisted the urge to sigh.

Naruto gave Kakashi a small smile, and entered the royal chamber, where his parents where waiting for him. Meanwhile, Kakashi was nearing a nervous breakdown.

"If he wants to kill me, why does he not trample me with his carriage and get it over with?"

Then he proceeded to doing his most common job: spying on Naruto's conversation with his parents.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, mother?"

"Oh!" The queen, Tsunade, was startled at her son's sudden appearance. Tsunade was a blonde, though she thought of herself more of a dirty blonde. She had light brown eyes, and wore a light yellow dress with golden shoes. She had a rather big bust, and it was no secret. It was mainly the main reason that Ino was ridiculed for her bust size.

"Naruto, Darling! Where have you been? Your father and I were just talking about you!"

"Your mother was talking, I was only listening." Replied King Arashii in slight protest, earning a quick annoyed glance from his wife. He was wearing a silk suit completely made of royal colors, such as purple and blue. A crest with the kingdom's seal was sewn into his left breast pocket.

'Uh oh….' thought Naruto, 'this can't be good then…'

'Anyway," continued Tsunade, "_We're_ (stress and the 'us' part) inviting a few people over one of these night to throw a little party- - a little get together."

"Yeah…" replied Naruto. He was only half listening, he knew whenever his mom did something without the full support of his dad, _something _bad was going to happen, at least in his book. He shuddered, recalling the tea party his mom threw once with the other kingdoms. Ino basically clung to him all night since Shizune had 'mysteriously' disappeared. Of course all the queens of the different kingdoms wanted to talk about their children's favorite (embarrassing) moments! And of course Naruto was the only male teen in the room having embarrassing stories told about him. He still had nightmares.

"Nothing fancy…just family"

"Uh-huh…" Naruto walked over to, what he guessed was, the party's invitation.

"…And a few close friends…" continued Tsunade.

"Uh-huh…" Naruto opened the invitation list scroll, all the paper suddenly rolling out and littering on the floor. Naruto had horrified expression and looked at Tsunade, a sweat drop on her head.

"And all the available young women in the kingdom?" she mentioned softly, "…Surprise?"

"Mother!!"

"It's just a few, I don't know, four or five hundred girls at most, Naruto. It's fine, right?" Tsunade just gave him a warm smile and stood by Naruto. The King was just playing a game of chess against himself, practicing, seemingly uninterested in the talk. Truth be told, he was curious as to how all this would play out.

"Mother," started Naruto, looking firmly at her with strong determination, "You can't keep doing this to me."

Silence.

Tsunade look amazed. Naruto surely wasn't saying that…

"W-what?" she couldn't keep her surprise from her voice. She turned to her husband.

"What is Naruto saying, darling?"

"He's saying he doesn't want to have another ball." Arashii said, as if Naruto had just talked in a different language only known to males, without removing his eyes from his game. He wasn't going to risk his neck between his wife and son. He wasn't a masochist.

Tsunade looked at Naruto again. He was still giving her the same face.

"No, he's not!"

No change.

"N-no, you're not…right?"

Naruto stood there with the same look on his face, barely moving a muscle. He was breaking through to his mother and he knew it.

Tsunade let out a small whimper.

"But- -and- -the- -I just- -!"

'Oh boy…'thought Naruto. Every time Tsunade didn't have her way, she would act like this. Stuttering, making no coherence, and acting around half her age (her actual age was one of the kingdom's seven wonders or something…)

Naruto let out an exasperated sigh, "Here we go…"

"Arashii!!" bellowed Tsunade as she ran over to her husband and maid like she was crying, covering her face with the seat's armrest.

Arashii was still looking at his game. Which would he move, rook or tower?

Tsunade looked at him, slight anger showing in her face, and hit his arm. When he looked at her he saw that Tsunade wanted him to convince their son.

'Man…' thought Arashii as he rose from his seat and his game to talk to Naruto.

"Son," he started, "This is really very simple. All your mother and I want is for you to be happy…"

Tsunade let out a sigh and said out loud, "Happiness has nothing to do with it!"

Naruto and Arashii looked at her with weird expressions on their faces.

Tsunade stood and looked at them, a quick smile on her face, "I mean, of course we want you to be happy!"

'Yeah, right…' thought Naruto, 'You're not fooling anyone, mom!'

"The thing is, Naruto," continued his mother, "you have certain obligations."

"What your Mom's trying to say," continued the king, "we think it's time that you chose a bride and produced an heir."

Naruto almost panicked. They weren't going to have **'the talk'** again, right?! Last time, they decided to leave that to Kakashi to teach to Naruto, and…Well, Naruto didn't know _who_ Jiraya was, but he learned that he _never_ wanted to read one of _those_ books _ever_ again! Naruto let out a shudder, but re-composed himself.

"Someday soon, this entire kingdom will be yours." Added Tsunade with a bittersweet smile on her face.

"Not _that_ soon…" added Arashii.

"Listen guys," Naruto stood a bit straighter, wanting to convince his parents of his look on things. "All I'm asking is to let me fall in love…and to let _me_ choose a bride, in my _own_ way." Naruto walked around the room. His mind wandered just slightly to the encounter he had that morning, that song that had made it is way to his mind. He wanted something like that. Not something he would get just so he would be king one day… "And, I guess I have this silly idea that I want to be in love when I get married," he paused, and turned to them, "like you were."

Arashii and Tsunade looked at each other and smiled. They knew they were fortunate enough to fall in love, even if they never declared it out loud to the world.

"That's all we want for you, too, son." Said Arashii, a smile still on his face.

"Yes, dear." Added Tsunade. "But!"

'Argh!' Naruto knew right then that he had failed!

"There's nothing saying that you can't fall in love at the ball! It happens all the time!"

"It's like they didn't hear a word I said…" Naruto whispered aloud to himself.

"Now we should go over the party menus and reserve—Where are you going? Where is he going?"

Indeed, Naruto had left the room.

"Could it have been something we said?" asked Arashii to Tsunade, as he sat back to his game of chess.

Tsunade blew some hair out of her face and walked over to the door, about to call Kakashi, when she saw him outside, looking in the direction Naruto had gone off.

"Kakashi" Tsunade called again, signaling him to follow her.

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"'Proclamation from the Prince'" dictated Tsunade, sitting on her throne, thinking exactly what was it that she was going to have Kakashi write.

'Wait, what?' Kakashi asked himself. Just what was the queen thinking of do—Oh, no…No way…Naruto will be infuriated! Since Kakashi had 'overheard' everything that happened he had a pretty good idea of what the Queen was thinking...She was probably about to do something crazy like princess Ino and Kakashi would, most likely, be the one in charge of carrying out the deed…This was _not_ good…

"E-excuse me, your Majesty," interrupted Kakashi, "I couldn't help overhearing, and I don't think the prince sounded too- -"

"Kakashi." Interrupted Tsunade, a sweet (cough-evil-cough) smile on her face. Kakashi stopped immediately. "Write this down."

For his own safety, Kakashi did as she said.

"_His royal Highness, Naruto Uzumaki Windermere Vladimir Carl Alexander François Reginald Lancelot Herman- -"_

"H-Herman?" interrupted Kakashi, when hearing the unusual last name (obviously made-up) for 'Naruto's Proclamation'.

"Herman." repeated Tsunade, with an extra firm voice this time.

Kakashi continued writing.

"_Gregory James,"_

"He'll thank us for it later," said Tsunade to her husband, who wasn't entirely sure about the whole idea.

"_Is giving a ball!"_

* * *

"_The prince is giving a ball!" _

Kakashi rode to the town on a carriage to the town square crying the news to everyone around. A big crowd formed around him fast. Kakashi opened the scroll he just wrote perfectly (kind of) from her Majesty and read it aloud.

"_His Royal Highness Naruto Uzumaki son of her Majesty Queen Tsunade _

_Charlotte Ermentrude Windemere Massey- -"_

"Massey?" asked Anko from the crowd, confused by the weird name.

"Massey." Repeated Kakashi with a light shrug.

"_Margarine Anne_

_Is giving a ball!_

_**Everyone: **__The prince is giving a ball!_

_The prince is giving a ball!_

Anko quickly rushed over to the candy shop where Konan and Karin where shopping for a quick snack. Once she found her daughters, she quickly told them the news.

_**Anko:** They've spread the message far and wide_

_The prince is giving a ball!_

_**Sisters:** Gasp!_

_**Anko:** They say he wants to find a bride_

_He may find one at the ball_

_**Karin:** Oh if only he proposed to me!_

_**Konan:** I wish that he propose to me!_

_**Anko:** Just leave the hair and clothes to me!_

_**All:** The prince is giving a ball!_

Meanwhile, Kakashi was wondering all around town getting the preparations for the ball ready. If Naruto won't be happy to have a ball, at least maybe he'll have some fun if everything is picture perfect. First, curtains!

_**Kakashi:** And now if you please_

_The crowd decree_

_Some fois de frais with frills_

_Silly satin_

_In all Bergine _

_Or red if someone spills_

Everything's well, so far. Next on the list is…meat. Kakashi paid a visit to Sasuke and the others at the Butchery.

_**Kakashi:** Now surely I'll need _

_A slice of ham_

_And lots of Beef fillets_

_Some marbleized steaks_

_A rack of lamb_

_And veil you raise to braise_

Done. One of the butcher boys almost cut off one of his fingers by not being careful around the food…Onward with cheeses, which was safer.

_**Kakashi:** Limburger Swiss and Gormandize_

_Cheddar Brier and Blue_

_Chunks of Swiss in barrels please_

_Make sure that it's 'holey' too_

Kakashi passed a group of children playing pretend, one of the boys being the prince while some girls were attending the ball. The news spread fast. He talked to the head chef at a bakery. A ball's not a ball without cake!

_**Kakashi:** Puddings and pies_

_And round Soufflés_

_Succulent chocolate rounds_

_Cream Puffs they can chew away_

_To gain some royal pounds_

_The prince is giving a ball!_

_The prince is giving a ball!_

After what seemed countless hours of coordinating everything, avoiding bakery girls with deadly bread pans walking or dancing around town, butcher boys transporting meat from one street to another, almost being trampeled by a barrel roll-ing (ha!) down the road, making sure all the silk for the curtains didn't touch the ground, and an incident with a five foot tall cake, Kakashi was ready to call it quits. But the image of what Tsunade might do to him kept him going strong. Next on the list…Oh, look! It almost over (Inward, Kakashi jumped for joy).

_**Everybody:** The prince is giving a ball!_

_The prince is giving a ball!_

_**Kakashi:** His Royal Highness_

_200 orachids_

_400 poppies_

_600 roses_

_800 lilies_

_Naruto Uzumaki_

_1000 oranges_

_2000 plumps_

_Windemire Vladmir _

_Carl Alexander_

_Raspberry blueberry strawberry gooseberry_

_Fransoir Reginald_

_Lancelot Herman_

_Son of her Majesty_

_Queen Tsunade_

_Chocolate & Cheddar_

_Charlotte & Massey_

_Son of His Caviar_

_King Arashii_

_Cadbury Lacerbout_

_Leopold Sidney_

_**Everybody:** Sidney?!_

_**Kakashi:** SIDNEY!!_

Kakashi yelled as he jumped onto his carriage as it was moving away to the castle and grabbed a fist full of- -fish? No! He grabbed the papers announcing a ball and threw them into the air, everyone grabbing one and announcing with excitement.

_**Everybody:** Is giving a ball!!_

Hinata just walked into the town square when Kakashi was driving away and grabbed one of the papers. Konan and Karin grabbed the paper from Hinata's hand and told her loudly.

_**Konan/Karin:** The prince is giving a ball!!_

_**Everyone:** No shit!_

_**Sasuke:** OH MY GOD!!!"_

Everyone watched as Sasuke fainted and Neji picked him up from the ground, saying there was nothing to see and dragged him inside the butchery store. Later on, Neji would wake him, say it **WASN'T** a nightmare that there **WAS** a ball that he **HAD** to attend with **INO** or he'd **PROBABLY** be beheaded...along with him…In the meantime, everybody else were still happy that there soon would be a ball thrown by prince Naruto (except Naruto, whom was oblivious to everything, reading manga in his room). Time to celebrate!

* * *

(aUTHOR's nOTEs)

Seriously. He DOES grab a fish first and then he grabs the papers and throws them. I was 'Wtf??' when I saw it for the first time, too.

The _'no shit!'_ part at the end was an inside joke. When we rehearsed the song at school, one of the stepsisters at the end would shout the line to Cinderella while our butcher guy would yell _'Omigod!!'_ next. We kept saying that till the morning of the play during a quick rehearsal. The drama teacher was almost having a heart attack during the play, thinking we would scream that to all the elementary school kids in the audience. We didn't. It was funny to see the teacher breathe after holding her breath through the whole dance. Lolz…

OH, GOD!!!** I HATED writing the lyrics!!** There were so many words that I didn't understand and surely they are spelled wrong, but Google was being a b*tch and wouldn't find me the 1997 lyrics!! (*huff*huff*huff*huff*). I'm glad it's done with now…

Sorry for the Barrel Roll pun. I had to put it in there!

There is a youtube video with the 'the prince is giving a ball' dance. Just replace the actual characters for the Naruto ones! No sweat, right? Just write **Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997) Part 2** in the search engine and it should appear. It's a video uploaded by wild blue 's basically all this chapter...T.T nine pages instead of nine minutes...the world is cruel.

Phew!! This is getting harder and harder to write…TxT I miss my notebook with the chapters previously written in them…


	4. Planning, Canceling, and Ideas

**Chapter 4: Planning, Canceling, and Ideas**

**Disclaimer:** I'm not the owner. Hmm…what if I DO say I own it? Will I really get sued? –Nervous-...Better safe than sorry…

**Warnings:** EXTREME OOC-ness as always. Honestly, NOBODY acts In Character in this story. Well, some people do…I think.

**UPDATE: **I changed the King's name in previous chapters. I'm quite sure his name is Minato, so I edited the chapters.

**

* * *

**

(Recap)

Everyone watched as Sasuke fainted and Neji picked him up from the ground, saying there was nothing to see and dragged him inside the butchery store. Later on, Neji would wake him, say it **WASN'T** a nightmare that there **WAS** a ball that he **HAD** to attend with **INO** or he'd **PROBABLY** be beheaded...along with Neji himself…In the meantime, everybody else was still happy that there soon would be a ball thrown by prince Naruto (except Naruto, whom was oblivious to everything, reading manga in his room). Time to celebrate!

**

* * *

**

Sasuke and Neji were standing inside their meat shop. Well…Neji was standing; Sasuke was nervously pacing back and forth. Neji just sighed and stood to grab Sasuke by his shoulders to keep him from making a hole on the floor. Sasuke didn't even seem to notice he stopped moving, too preoccupied with the ordeal that was staring him in the face.

"Sasuke."

No luck, he was still spacing out.

"Sasuke!" Neji shook the younger man harshly until he was certain he was paying attention this time. When Sasuke's eyes stopped rolling from the dizziness, he continued. "Calm down."

"Calm down?" Sasuke repeated, as if he heard his friend wrong. He hoped so! There was _no way_ he would be able to calm down with that was happening! "_How_ can I calm down? Don't you _see, Neji_?"

Sasuke grabbed _him_ by the shoulders this time. Neji just stood still and let him. He'd let Sasuke vent a little and then he'd calm him down. Then he'd come up with some sort of genius plan and Sasuke would agree, and to celebrate the sheer awesomeness of their plan, they'd go out for a drink…and ice cream. Ice cream was always welcomed.

"The crazy princess wants _me_ to accompany _her_ to the ball! I can't accompany _her_! I have to accompany Sakura! If I'm _not_ keeping Sakura away from Prince Naruto, who's to say that he won't steal her away and they won't get married!" Neji just blinked lazily, "Of course, Sakura loves me so she'll resist at first, until Naruto decides to keep her close until she loves him! And Sakura will stay loyal to me- - until Stockholm syndrome kicks in and she agrees to be wed to him and then they'll mutually agree to make me the best man by some cruel twist of fate and I won't have a choice because they'll be _running_ the kingdom for Merlin's sake and they won't really be hearing what the priest is saying until the 'I do's cause they'll be too busy looking into each other's eyes and whispering silly names to each other and I won't even have a chance to object as they ride in a carriage to their honeymoon for who knows how long and then they'll come back and have a million kids together!" Neji rolled his eyes at Sasuke's overactive imagination, "And you know _what_ Neji? They'll ALL be named Sakura Jr. or Naruto Jr. or Sakunaru or something like that! I can't let that happen!"

Neji could tell Sasuke was done venting. He sighed and tore Sasuke's hands away from his shoulders. The older spoke slowly and carefully, so Sasuke wouldn't confuse his words with something else if his mind was still coming up with baby names for Sakura and Naruto's imaginary babies.

"If you're so sure that Sakura will be forced to marry Naruto the moment their eyes meet or whatever," Sasuke whined after no doubt imagining that scenario, Neji rolled his eyes again, "Then we'll just find a way to keep them apart during the ball." He added 'obviously' for good measure.

"But _how_ are we going to do that?" Sasuke paced the floor again, "_You_ have no invitation, and I'm only allowed because I'm Ino's…" he visibly shuddered,"…_date.._. Not only that, but if I'm Ino's…_date_… not only will Sakura's heart be broken, but Ino won't let me out of her sight…And if I don't show up, she'll have me in the dungeons, man!" As soon as he stopped, he sat on a nearby chair, placing his head between his hands as he looked at the ceiling, as if it had the answers. "I don't know what to do…"

Feeling oddly sympathetic, Neji felt his spirits dampen as well. Not only that, but he suddenly remembered that Ino's semi-death threat included Neji, because surely Sasuke wouldn't go down alone…

…Okay, it was because Neji wouldn't have the heart to let him suffer alone, but there's no way he would admit that to anyone.

Nevertheless, Neji stood and walked outside. He still had to think of a plan, since it was apparent Sasuke would be too depressed to even go to his happy place, much less think of a solution for the dilemma. He might as well work on the castle orders while he thought.

…Things were_ much_ simpler when they were younger and were convinced girls had cooties…

* * *

Meanwhile, the mood around the Bakery shop was the complete opposite of the Butchery. All the girls closed the shop for the day, some cleaning up the bread stands outside while others continued to bake inside. They had to focus on the ball preparations, and they knew the townspeople would be too preoccupied buying expensive dresses and jewelry to think about buying bread or pastries. However, the workers were happily chatting among themselves and the upcoming event, not fully worrying about the amount of work they were doing. Daydreaming between girls was much more fun anyways!

"Girls," an especially giddy baker outside almost squealed out in joy, "This is the chance of a lifetime! How romantic is it to meet your future husband in a grand ball~…" she dreamily exhaled as she spun around, as if dancing with an invisible partner. She momentarily stopped to fix her headband, which had slipped during her dance. She fixed it to perfectly hold back her long pink hair and keep her bright green eyes exposed.

"I know, Sakura~," replied another baker. This one had long brown hair tied up in twin buns and chocolate-colored eyes. She stopped sweeping and rested her hands on top of her broom, resting her chin over them. Her face showed a wide grin, as she closed her eyes to imagine a grand ballroom full of dancing people. "Not to mention, Naruto's pretty cute! He's the stereotypical blonde haired and blue eyed prince."

A scoff sounded from behind them. They turned around to see a fellow friend of theirs placing freshly baked bread on the store's window space to cool down. She cleaned her hands on her apron as she made her way to her two friends.

"He's way too…_bleh_ to be considered husband material. Not only that," she finished cleaning her hands and placed them on her hips, "He's a guy we've known since always; hardly romantic at all."

"Oh hush, Temari!" Sakura exclaimed with a small pout. Her friend's words were putting a small damper on her mood.

Tenten just laughed besides her. "We can't really look at it through your eyes. You think true romance happens when you accidentally crush the guy's foot and he decides not to give you the satisfaction of a wince or something." Tenten continued dusting as she spoke. She was right; she knew Temari long enough to understand her warped train of thought.

Well, just a little.

"Heh, it's a much more realistic fantasy than thinking some guy will choose you over five hundred other chicks." Temari's green eyes locked on Tenten's, as she stepped back, in mock anger when she decided to sweep Temari's feet as a response. Her two ponytails at the base of her neck stayed still, her blonde hair too short for the movement to bother it. "True romance with a total stranger is much better than that of one with a prince you've known forever!"

Sakura was ready to reply against Temari's comment when she was interrupted by another of her friends. This one had short light brown hair held out of her face by a headband and came running outside with a worried look on her face, her light brown eyes open wide."Guys! The others and I just noticed something terrible!"

"What is it, Rin?" Sakura inquired, having forgotten her previous annoyance at Temari when she saw Rin's expression.

Rin's eyes started tearing up slightly, and her lip trembled as she bit it. She closed her bright brown eyes and almost yelled out her next words.

"None of us will be able to go to the ball!"

* * *

Neji's head snapped up so suddenly, he swore he head a crack come from his neck. Regardless, he focused on the bakery store across from the street. Surely Rin hadn't meant for her words to come out so loud, but he heard them anyways. He was lost in thought, trying to make sense of the words. After a few moments (which the girls spent trying to get Rin to stop her tears and explain herself) Neji made full sense of the brunette's message. He moved inside the shop over to where Sasuke currently stood drying plates and utensils, still to unreliable to be left alone cutting meat ("Dammit, it isn't my fault you idiots think I'm emo! I can handle knives!"). Better safe than sorry, thought the other butchers.

Neji turned the boy around sharply, ignoring the water droplets that hit his face at the sudden action. When he saw that Sasuke was looking straight at him, he began explaining what he heard. Though Sasuke's face clearly showed he was rather delighted by the news, he couldn't help but feel curious as to why the tables turned so suddenly.

"It's so clear, I still can't believe I didn't see it before," Sasuke could see his friend was internally beating himself for overlooking this situation, although Sasuke himself was still as lost as ever. "This is a _ball_ we're talking about, Sasuke. This means a lot of fancy people dancing with fancy dresses. The Bakery girls all work to help their family's income, they can't buy the expensive dresses mostly used for these events, especially ones that would catch Prince Naruto's eye and only get use one night," Sasuke's mind dawned on the realization and, though he felt bad that the girls would miss out on the dance they so dearly wished to attend, he couldn't deny he felt incredibly relieved. "You get it now, right Sasuke?"

"Y-yeah, I just can't believe it…" Sasuke dropped the dish he had been gripping unconsciously on the sink behind him and practically ran to the front of the store, looking out the window to the girl's store across the street. Sure enough, Rin was standing there with her head bowed while Tenten ran a hand in soothing circles on her back. Sakura and Temari were nearby as well. He did his best to stop thinking how cute Sakura looked with her light green headband that matched her eyes long enough to concentrate on the girl's conversation.

* * *

"Well that sucks," the blonde put her hands behind her head as she looked up in thought. "Guess the fantasy died before it even started." Sakura hushed her harshly and sent her a small glare for good measure. She felt incredibly irritated that they couldn't attend the ball because of something as frugal as money.

"I don't know why you're _feeling bad_ Temari," the redhead's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "You never had any intention of going. You should be feeling miserable _for_ us, not rubbing it in…" she muttered. Maybe if she kept her voice low, her anger would show and get the best of her; God knows her anger was the last thing Rin needed to worry about right now. The girl had been ecstatic about the opportunity to meet some friends she hadn't seen in years at the ball. It seemed that her hopes were crushed drastically.

Temari looked at Sakura's direction. "Are you mental or something?" Her voice matched her expression. She looked as though Sakura had suddenly hatched a second head. "Of course I planned on going. Only an idiot wouldn't."

At Tenten's confused face, she explained. "I never said I wasn't going, I just shot down your fantasies revolving Naruto."

* * *

Somewhere, Sasuke had given a slight sob at the idea of Sakura having _any_ fantasy concerning Naruto.

**

* * *

**

Naruto suddenly sneezed. He pondered the thought of being sick and missing his own ball. Needless to say, the idea was inviting.

* * *

"I planned on going in case I found a hot duke or something, much better than being with childish Naruto," Temari continued, "And if luck was against me, I could at least party hard and get juicy blackmail on some other kingdom's royalty. Much better than spending a night at home alone…"

This was obviously the wrong thing to say, as the four girl's shoulders' sagged in the thought of spending the night alone at their houses rather than with everyone else at the castle. The very air around the bakery dropped a few degrees, the teens themselves unsure whether the change was influenced by the feelings of depression or irritation.

It was when Rin was hopelessly thinking when another event such as a ball might occur again before she grew old and senile that Tenten gave a sudden gasp, he eyes lighting up at her newest thought. Her friends all turned their gaze at her instead of the gravel road beneath their shoes. They all knew that look; it was Tenten's signature smile for when she had a genius plan.

Or for when she had one of her weird epiphanies. They dearly hoped it was the former.

"Girls! I just thought of something!" the brunette could hardly keep the excitement and joy out of her voice, "Since we have no dresses, nor do we have money for any, let's ask Ino to give us some! She's a princess and I'm more than certain she wouldn't mind giving some to fellow girls~!"

"What!" the bakery girls exclaimed.

* * *

"WHAT?" Neji and Sasuke yelled all the way over from the butcher shop. Their question wasn't heard or was ignored by the bakery girls.

* * *

"Oh Tenten! That's such a great idea~!" Sakura glomped Tenten and hugged her tightly in joy. It wasn't long before Rin decided to join to hug and pulled Temari along for good measure. The close friends were giggling like the young girl they were, overjoyed that they might get to attend the party after all.

"You know…" Tenten added while thinking, "It might be better if we get a boy to ask her instead of us… Ino always had a weakness for handsome or cute guys."

"We could ask Haku," Sakura offered, "He's so cute he looks like a girl. Would that work?"

"We want to hit her weakness, not make her feel bad that a guy is prettier than her," answered the blonde baker after prying herself from the hug fest Rin had pulled her into.

"Don't worry! I know who to ask!" Rin exclaimed as she ran across the street, leaving the other three to wonder who Rin was talking about as they decided to resume their forgotten tasks.

* * *

Rin entered the meat shop and looked around at the workers. She caught sight of what seemed to be Sasuke brooding in a corner as Neji rubbed his back awkwardly in an attempt to make him feel better. Honestly, she couldn't deny the thought that Sasuke might've been perfect for the job, but she (along with half the street) had seen when Ino called (yelled) Sasuke over from his chores to ask (order) him to be her date for the ball. Therefore, the princess' date wasn't a good idea for a person to ask her for dresses.

For _other_ girls.

The brunette saw Neji briefly looking in her direction to give her a small nod of acknowledgement. Upon seeing her questioning gaze in Sasuke's direction, the violet eyed boy just shook his head in mock exasperation and made a motion for her to ignore them.

The girl did just that as she walked deeper inside the store. If Sasuke couldn't do it, she'd get the next best thing. Lo and behold, there stood the answer to her dilemma, working with the store's budget, looking as indifferent as ever.

Rin hurried over to the boy and pulled him from his work.

"Hey Itachi! I have a favor to ask you!"

Itachi looked at Rin, something in his gut telling him he wasn't going to like this…

* * *

Meanwhile, Neji kept trying to console Sasuke. Once again, their hopes that Sakura wouldn't be able to attend the ball were thwarted. It was back to plan one. He would just have to come up with another plan.

He _could_ just sabotage Rin's mission of looking for a boy to help them with Ino, but that would just be mean. Rin hadn't done anything to them, and the girls all deserved an equal chance to enjoy their time at the ball. Which meant…his plan would have to involve infiltrating the ball and stopping Naruto from dancing with Sakura, thus making all the more difficult…

Sigh. He had to admit, Tenten just made his life a little bit harder, without her even knowing it. It wasn't enough that the woman could beat him at Dungeons & Warlocks and Chess. Nooo, she had to beat him in real life, too. Damn that girl and her brain, he didn't care how cute or pretty she was.

* * *

"A-choo!"

"Bless you."

"Thanks, Sakura…" Tenten sniffed.

"You know…" Sakura stopped packing cupcakes into boxes as she faced Tenten. "They say someone's talking about you when you sneeze~…"

"Doubt it," sniffed Tenten again, rubbing her nose against the back of her hand and continued evaluating the store's income for the day. "This is probably dust allergies from Temari's crappy attempt at sweeping the store."

Temari threw a rag at the back of Tenten's head. She gave a satisfied smirk when it hit its mark. "Suuure. Blame the future duchess of a powerful kingdom. Don't come crawling to me for a boyfriend when I'm married and wealthy. We'll see who's laughing then."

Sakura, Tenten and Temari all giggled as they continued working.

* * *

**A/N:** This is obviously on a LONG Hiatus and will most likely stay that way between chapters. I lost all of my former passion for Naruto (the series. I totally still love Hinata-chan~!). I'm only dragging myself to do this because I'd feel horrible starting my Hetalia fanfics if this one was left alone in the wind…-sigh-

Oh, and Sunshine has been deleted. One day I shall re-post the (only) chapter I did and continue it and finish it, but I don't know when that'll be.

Anything else…? I think that's it…


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